Contents

This template has been re-named Countries of Europe, contrary to the Requested Move decision of 23 October 2010 (above), with no further discussion. If the template is to be called Countries of Europe, it should list all the countries of Europe, per WP:NPOV. I propose to add England, Scotland and Wales to the list. Any objections? Daicaregos (talk) 14:28, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

I object, yes. First of all, to the characterization that this is demanded by NPOV. Maybe by factualness, but it has nothing to do with POV. Secondly, the name of the template doesn't really matter, since the description of the template is still the same, it could be renamed Template:kittens and not have cats in it. It's obvious what the template is aiming for, so instead of adding things that go against that, the effort should be focused on removing any reasonable ambiguity. "Reasonable" being the operative word. --Golbez (talk) 15:34, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

Reasonable? Reasonable would be a template named 'Template:Countries of Europe' showing all the countries of Europe, rather than just some of them. Not including England, Scotland and Wales here is a demonstrating a POV that they are not countries. You seem to think this has nothing to do with POV; it has. Neutral point of view says: Editing from a neutral point of view (NPOV) means representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without bias, all of the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic. All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view. NPOV is a fundamental principle of Wikipedia and of other Wikimedia projects. This policy is nonnegotiable and all editors and articles must follow it. While it may be obvious to you what the template is aiming for, it may not be obvious to others. England, Scotland and Wales are all verified as countries by reliable sources, they should be included on this template. Daicaregos (talk) 17:31, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

The way I see it, the only discussion that can be had is "What should the template be named", because there's no way the constituent countries are getting added to it. Instead of taking advantage of this move that you disagree with (and you very much are doing that, this is an opportunity to you, otherwise why not simply undo the move?), you could either undo it, or bring the matter of the renaming up. Anything else is simply not happening. --Golbez (talk) 20:09, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

The UK isn't the only country whose subdivisions are also called "countries". The Kingdom of the Netherlands is composed of four "countries", the same terminology is sometimes also used for the Kingdom of Denmark, though not consistently.SiBr4("CyberFour") (talk) 20:15, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

I wrote that before you changed your comment and removed the sentence that "the UK is the only nation-state that uses the terminology of "country" for its parts". SiBr4("CyberFour") (talk) 20:18, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

I stand by it. The sovereign nation in these templates is "The Netherlands". Yes, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has four constituent countries, but we often only refer to one, The Netherlands, in these lists, the rest are considered dependencies. It would be an equivalent situation if we listed "United Kingdom" and "Kingdom of the Netherlands", or "England" and "The Netherlands", but as it is the situation is mixed. --Golbez (talk) 20:34, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

It's true that Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are often considered dependencies of the Netherlands, though officially they are constituent countries within the Kingdom alongside the Netherlands. Confusingly, "Netherlands" is also the short-form name of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. SiBr4("CyberFour") (talk) 21:56, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

Though the title of the template is "Countries of Europe", the three subgroups are "Sovereign states", "States with limited recognition" and "Dependent territories". E,S,W&NI fit in none of these categories. If you think this template should contain all entities called "countries", would you include the Basque Country too? What about the states of Germany, called "Länder" in German, also literally meaning "countries"? SiBr4("CyberFour") (talk) 20:15, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

If I remember correctly, the move was to make this one match the other continent country templates. Most were named "Countries of X" and (in part because of WP:Local Consensus) thease outliers should not have differed unless there was some reasion for them to, and there wasn't, the move can not simply be reverted at this point, this has been the title for almost a year. If you want to rename this, you could start an mass RM for all of the continent country templates.

More importantly there are differing definitions of "country", and to quote Apteva "templates do not need to be as precisely named as articles - no one ever sees the name of the template - it could just as well use a random number for the name and shorter names are easier to use". The actual title is a mere technical tool met for ease of use by editors, the reader never sees it, it doesn't matter except for its ease of use by editors.

What does matter is the header, and the headers of all these continent navboxes (except the Antarctic one) say "Countries and territories of X". I wouldn't go so far as to call this an NPOV volition, but it is imprecise. If I remember correctly, the headers used to say "Sovereign states and dependent territories in X". I don't know why that was changed, but the parent article's titles use that wording. Unless there's some reason for for these navboxes headers to differ from their parent article's titles that's the probably the header we should use. Emmette Hernandez Coleman (talk) 21:10, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

@ Golbez: I didn't revert the move because it was made so long ago. Implying I have used underhand methods or devious motives is incorrect, unnecessary and quite disgraceful. Daicaregos (talk) 09:18, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

@ SiBr I do not propose including Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten on this template as they are not in Europe. I would prefer to see Netherlands replace Netherlands. Neither Basque Country nor the German Länder are commonly known as countries; England, Scotland and Wales are.

I have no view on the Template title. However, the template appears on articles as Countries and dependencies of Europe, which is what it should list. England, Scotland and Wales are verifiably countries and they are in Europe, as such, they should be on a list purporting to show Countries and dependencies of Europe. Daicaregos (talk) 09:18, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

And now the List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe lists what it purports to list, which improves the encyclopaedic content of Wikipedia. Unless I misunderstood you, you seem to suggest it shouldn't; a bizarre position to take. The OED defines 'country' as: 3. The territory or land of a nation; usually an independent state, or a region once independent and still distinct in race, language, institutions, or historical memories, as England, Scotland, and Ireland, in the United Kingdom, etc. This is the precisely the context of 'country' used in this template. A template appearing on articles as Countries and dependencies of Europe should include England, Scotland and Wales. Daicaregos (talk) 12:15, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

I don't have access to the OED, but under that definition, the Basque country and most of Germany would qualify. Much of Europe for that matter. CMD (talk) 13:23, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

Perhaps you could read country instead. As I said above, neither Basque Country nor the German Länder are commonly known as countries; England, Scotland and Wales are. Daicaregos (talk) 13:50, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

The article which mentions the German states, French regions, and British overseas territories, and which notes the term can sometimes be used only in reference to states? Yes, I've read it. Quite frankly, Basque Country, having the word country in it, seems a prime candidate for some sort of 'country status', if such a thing was to come up, the page you linked also mentions Northern Ireland, which is another issue this template really shouldn't have to deal with. CMD (talk) 13:58, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

Bit of selective quoting there. If you want to restrict the template to Sovereign states and dependencies of Europe, then the template needs to be called that. England, Scotland and Wales are defined by numerous reliable sources as countries (as I'm sure you know). If Basque country, or any other place in Europe is defined similarly, by similar quality sources, it should be included too (although I don't believe it is); in other words, anywhere in Europe that is verifiably a country or dependency in Europe should be on a list, or template, of European countries. England, Scotland and Wales are, and should, therefore, be included on this template. Daicaregos (talk) 15:03, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

"I didn't revert the move because it was made so long ago. Implying I have used underhand methods or devious motives is incorrect, unnecessary and quite disgraceful." I apologize because I thought the move was recent, not so long ago. That said, I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from you claiming that this was required under NPOV, implying that people who disagree with you are somehow biased against Wales, that was the wrong hill to fight for. --Golbez (talk) 18:24, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

@Golbez. Thank you, as to citing WP:NPOV, I did not intend to imply that people who disagree with me are biased against Wales. I am sorry you inferred that, the part of NPOV relevant here has been quoted above. It is not directed at anyone in particular, but is a policy we must all follow. Daicaregos (talk) 08:46, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

@Daicaregos: I didn't say Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten should be added to this template; I replied to Golbez who claimed that "the UK is the only nation-state that uses the terminology of "country" for its parts". I think that {{Countries of Europe}} shoudn't include the UK's constituent countries, and that {{Countries of North America}} shouldn't include the Dutch Caribbean constituent countries either if they weren't so widely viewed as dependencies of the Netherlands.

@Emmette Hernandez Coleman: If "Template:Countries of Europe" is moved back to "Template:Sovereign states of Europe" and "Template:Countries of Europe" is kept as a redirect, pages using "Template:Countries of Europe" will still display the contents of "Template:Sovereign states of Europe"; see WP:Template redirects. Or have I misunderstood your reasoning behind the sentence "The move can not simply be reverted at this point, this has been the title for almost a year"? SiBr4("CyberFour") (talk) 19:43, 18 January 2014 (UTC)

AFAICT, editors are contending that England, Scotland and Wales should not be included on this template because they are not sovereign states or dependencies, which, of course, they are not, but this template does not purport to list sovereign states and dependencies. Btw, please note that the title, as it displays on articles (Countries and dependencies of Europe), Wikilinks to List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, contrary the Manual of Style/Linking guideline. Currently, this template purports to list the Countries and dependencies of Europe. Again, AFAICT, no-one is contending that England, Scotland and Wales are not countries, or that they aren't in Europe. Consequently, a template purporting to list the Countries and dependencies of Europe should include them, per the “nonnegotiable” policy, NPOV, quoted above. If editors want to change the way the template displays its title on articles to reflect its content, please say that, but some changes need to be made. My preference is to keep its title (as it displays on articles) as Countries and dependencies of Europe and add the countries England, Scotland and Wales. Daicaregos (talk) 08:48, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

Whether or not the British constituent parts are countries depends on your definition of a "country". IMO, England, Scotland and Wales are not countries (using the term to refer to a sovereign state), though they may arguably be countries in a non-political sense, the template doesn't need to be moved as the template's name is not visible to readers, though it may help to change the title above the navbox back to "Sovereign states and dependent territories of Europe" for clarity. Note that while the template was moved to "Template:Countries of Europe" in February 2013, the title was changed to "Countries and dependencies of Europe" only in September with this edit by Lfdder. SiBr4 (talk) 15:04, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

I see no particular need to change the title or contents of this template, nor any benefit to the reader in doing so. There is nothing wrong with using the word "country" to mean sovereign state - it is one of the multiple standard meanings of the word, the phrase "sovereign state" is subject to exactly the same argument but on a larger scale (as every US state is formally sovereign). There are plenty of "countries" out there in Europe alone that also would need to be included by the same argument, the argument for the change - the same that has been made many times before - conflates two separate meanings of the word and is based on a POV that holds that being called a "country" gives the UK countries equal status to states such as France, Germany or the United States. Kahastoktalk 18:56, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

Governments, the ISO and numerous other reliable sources define, and refer to, England Scotland and Wales as countries, these are significant views and must be represented here. Editor opinion as to whether somewhere is a country or not is irrelevant. 'Country' and 'sovereign state' are not synonymous. I reiterate, Neutral point of view says: Editing from a neutral point of view (NPOV) means representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without bias, all of the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic. All Wikipedia articles and other encyclopedic content must be written from a neutral point of view. The NPOV policy is a fundamental principle of Wikipedia that is nonnegotiable and all editors and articles must follow it.Daicaregos (talk) 15:31, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

So why aren't you? Your proposal that we suggest that Wales and France are equivalent in status - when they patently are not - is clearly non-neutral.

While "country" and "sovereign state" are not always synonymous, there certainly is a meaning of the word "country" that is the same thing as what you refer to as a "sovereign state". The fact that your argument relies on an insistence that words can only have one meaning demonstrates how flawed it is. Kahastoktalk 16:28, 26 January 2014 (UTC)

I am not saying countries are equal. That is not relevant. Please don't try to misrepresent me. Sovereign states are not necessarily 'equal'. Vatican City is not 'equal' to China and Monaco is not 'equal' to USA. Nevertheless, reliable sources define each of them as sovereign states ... and countries. But this template does not purport to show sovereign states, it purports to show countries. Not a selection of countries; countries. Some may be sovereign states and countries. Others countries, but not sovereign states, the fact that your argument relies on an insistence that words can only have one meaning demonstrates how flawed it is. Daicaregos (talk) 12:58, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

If England, Scotland and Wales are countries for this purpose, then so is the other constituent country of the UK - Northern Ireland. The Clyde Valley (talk)

Fine as it (i.e. referring to "countries" with no mention of England, Scotland and Wales). Like Kahastok says, the argument for their inclusion is based on the idea that words have one and only one meaning.

Including them, too, would begin a parade of horribles. Is all of Ireland a country, for example? I cannot find a single source that says it is not and plenty that say it is. But it's not the kind of country we mean here. --Tóraí (talk) 16:57, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

According to the discussion at Talk:List of states with limited recognition, Crimea may declare independence after the referendum next week, but hasn't done so yet. It's best to wait until it's clear whether Crimea will actually become independent before prematurely adding it to every single list of countries. SiBr4 (talk) 21:21, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

Israel shares many cultural links with Europe. Should it be included on this template?Grootwoord (talk) 20:52, 8 December 2015 (UTC)

This template isn't about country's with cultural links, it's about physically being a part of the continent. - SantiLak(talk) 03:04, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

Not according to the template it's not, as it specifically includes countries "entirely in Asia with cultural links to Europe". Armenia, Cyprus, and possibly Malta are not geologically within Europe. --Golbez (talk) 05:56, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

And the only one that isn't geologically in Europe per se is Armenia, is very close to the border of that is considered geologically Europe. My opinion is that Israel shouldn't be included. - SantiLak(talk) 18:08, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

I dunno, including Armenia really seems to open the door to Israel. Of course, to do so would require some healthy corroboration from articles like Europe, so the discussion really belongs there, not here. --Golbez (talk) 19:19, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

Beside the name of the base there is the description (sovereign base areas), they are both links and both direct to the same page. In the other cases the description directs to the 'type' of territory, since apparently there are no pages about sovereign military bases, that don't redirect to Akrotiri and Dhekelia, I guess this comment should not be a link. It could even become a footnote, but that might end up being problematic. Pqnlrn (talk) 11:02, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

Someone just added Spain to "partially in Africa". While this is true, it opens a bit of a can of worms. Do we have to add three footnotes, or a single long footnote, for France, which exists in three other continents? (South America, North America, Africa) We'd also have to do it for Italy, which has African islands. Or should we prune back what is considered 'part of other continents', remove Greece as being partially in Asia, and specify that it's only for those that cross the Ural barrier and/or are culturally linked to Europe (so basically, some of the post-Soviet states), but right now, with only Spain and the Asian holdings spelled out, it's omitting the other transcontinental nations of France, Italy, and possibly Denmark. Or, we simply remove the footnotes altogether, and allow the article to illuminate the nuances. --Golbez (talk) 15:51, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

1.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa

Europe
–
Reconstruction of Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of Noah — Asia to Sem (Shem), Europe to Iafeth (Japheth), and Africa to Cham (Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical Europa of the 8th century BC.

2.
Objectivity (journalism)
–
Journalistic objectivity is a significant principle of journalistic professionalism. Journalistic objectivity can refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship and that is, they do not provide separate feeds for conservative or liberal newspapers. Journalist Jonathan Fenby has explained the philosophy, to achieve such wide acceptability, demonstrably correct information is their stock in trade. Traditionally, they report at a level of responsibility, attributing their information to a spokesman. They avoid making judgments and steer clear of doubt and ambiguity, though their founders did not use the word, objectivity is the philosophical basis for their enterprises – or failing that, widely acceptable neutrality. Journalism needs to be objective, accurate and investigative in the way it presents information. This objectivity in journalism helps the audience to make up their own mind about a story, there is a necessity for reporters to present the honesty regarding the facts instead of always reporting information in an honest format. In addition, to maintain objectivity in journalism, journalists need to present the facts whether or not they like or agree with those facts, objective journalism needs to remain neutral and unbiased regardless of the writers opinion or personal beliefs. The modern notion of objectivity in journalism is largely due to the work of Walter Lippmann, Lippmann was the first to widely call for journalists to use the scientific method for gathering information. Lippmann called for journalistic objectivity after the excesses of Yellow journalism and he noted that the yellows at the time had served their purpose, but that the people needed to receive the actual news, and not a romanticized version of it. Journalistic objectivity requires that a journalist not be on side of an argument. The journalist must report only the facts and not an attitude toward the facts. Sociologist Michael Schudson argues that the belief in objectivity is a faith in facts, a distrust in values, and it does not refer to the prevailing ideology of newsgathering and reporting that emphasizes eyewitness accounts of events, corroboration of facts with multiple sources and balance of viewpoints. It also implies a role for journalists as a fourth estate. Media critics such as Edward S. News stories of the often described with detachment the hanging. Under the regimen of objectivity, news writers often attempted to balance these accounts by recounting the alleged transgressions of the victims that provoked the lynch mobs to fury, mindich argues that this may have had the effect of normalizing the practice of lynching. Historical factors have also shaped objectivity in journalism, as acknowledged and addressed in peace journalism and these are particularly relevant with regard to the large proportion of journalism about conflict. As noted below, with the growth of media, especially from the nineteenth century

3.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
–
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known as the Netherlands, is a country and constitutional monarchy with territory in western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the kingdom—the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, in practice, however, most of the Kingdom affairs are administered by the Netherlands—which comprises roughly 98% of the Kingdoms land area and population—on behalf of the entire Kingdom. The constituent countries of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are located in the Caribbean as well, the Kingdom of the Netherlands originated in the aftermath of Napoleon’s defeat in 1815. In that year, the Netherlands regained its independence from France, in March 1815, amidst the turmoil of the Hundred Days, the Sovereign Prince adopted the style of King of the Netherlands. Following Napoleons second defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the Vienna Congress supplied international recognition of Williams unilateral move. The new King of the Netherlands was also made Grand Duke of Luxembourg, a part of the Kingdom that was, at the same time, in 1830, Belgium seceded from the Kingdom, a step that was recognised by the Netherlands only in 1839. At that point, Luxembourg became an independent country in a personal union with the Netherlands. Luxembourg also lost more than half of its territory to Belgium and that status was reversed when the German Confederation ceased to exist in 1867, and, at that point, Limburg reverted to its status as an ordinary Dutch province. The origin of the reform of 1954 was the 1931 Westminster Statute and the 1941 Atlantic Charter. Changes were proposed in the 7 December 1942 radio speech by Queen Wilhelmina, in this speech, the Queen, on behalf of the Dutch government in exile in London, expressed a desire to review the relations between the Netherlands and its colonies after the end of the war. After liberation, the government would call a conference to agree on a settlement in which the territories could participate in the administration of the Kingdom on the basis of equality. After Indonesia became independent, a construction was considered too heavy, as the economies of Suriname. Delegates of Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles could participate in sessions of the First, an overseas member could be added to the Council of State when appropriate. According to the Charter, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles were also allowed to alter their Basic Laws, the right of the two autonomous countries to leave the Kingdom, unilaterally, was not recognised, yet it also stipulated that the Charter could be dissolved by mutual consultation. Suriname was a constituent country within the Kingdom from 1954 to 1975, Netherlands New Guinea was a dependent territory of the Kingdom until 1962, but was not an autonomous country, and was not mentioned in the Charter. In 1955, Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard visited Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, the visit was a great success. The royal couple were welcomed enthusiastically by the population. Several other royal visits were to follow, in 1969, an unorganised strike on the Antillean island of Curaçao resulted in serious disturbances and looting, during which a part of the historic city centre of Willemstad was destroyed by fire

Kingdom of the Netherlands
–
King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the reigning monarch of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the time this picture was taken he was still the Prince of Orange.
Kingdom of the Netherlands
–
Flag

4.
Kingdom of Denmark
–
The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government

Kingdom of Denmark
–
The gilded side of the Trundholm sun chariot dating from the Nordic Bronze Age.
Kingdom of Denmark
–
Flag
Kingdom of Denmark
–
The Ladby ship, the largest ship burial found in Denmark.
Kingdom of Denmark
–
Larger of the two Jelling stones, raised by Harald Bluetooth.

5.
Basque Country (autonomous community)
–
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, the Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The term Basque Country may also refer to the cultural region, the home of the Basque people. The territory has three areas, which are defined by the two parallel ranges of the Basque Mountains. The main range of forms the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in the Aizkorri massif, the three areas are, Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to the Bay of Biscay, like the Nervión, Urola or Oria. The coast is rough, with cliffs and small inlets. The main features of the coast are the Bilbao Abra Bay and the Estuary of Bilbao, the Urdaibai estuary, between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau called Llanada Alavesa, where the capital Gasteiz is located. The rivers flow south from the mountains to the Ebro River, the main rivers are the Zadorra River and Bayas River. From the southern mountains to the Ebro is the so-called Rioja Alavesa, some of Spains production of Rioja wine takes place here. Precipitation average is about 1200 mm, the middle section is more influence by the continental climate, but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, the Ebro valley has a pure continental climate, winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Precipitation is scarce and irregular, as low as 300 mm, almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in Greater Bilbao, Bilbaos metropolitan area. Of the ten most populous cities, six form part of Bilbaos conurbation, with 28. 2% of the Basque population born outside this region, immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this came from other parts of Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile. Over recent years, sizeable numbers of population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad. Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Basque Country, bilbao-Bilbo Vitoria-Gasteiz San Sebastián-Donostia Barakaldo Getxo Irun Portugalete Santurtzi Basauri Errenteria Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in the autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre

6.
States of Germany
–
Germany is a federal republic consisting of sixteen federal states. Since todays Germany was formed from a collection of several states, it has a federal constitution. The remaining 13 states are called Flächenländer, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 was through the unification of the western states created in the aftermath of World War II. West Berlin, while not part of the Federal Republic, was largely integrated and considered as a de facto state. In 1952, following a referendum, Baden, Württemberg-Baden, in 1957, the Saar Protectorate rejoined the Federal Republic as the Saarland. Federalism is one of the constitutional principles of Germany. After 1945, new states were constituted in all four zones of occupation, in 1949, the states in the three western zones formed the Federal Republic of Germany. This is in contrast to the development in Austria, where the Bund was constituted first. The use of the term Länder dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, before this time, the constituent states of the German Empire were called Staaten. Today, it is common to use the term Bundesland. However, this term is not used officially, neither by the constitution of 1919 nor by the Basic Law of 1949, three Länder call themselves Freistaaten, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia. He summarizes the arguments for boundary reform in Germany. The German system of dual federalism requires strong Länder that have the administrative and fiscal capacity to implement legislation, too many Länder also make coordination among them and with the federation more complicated. But several proposals have failed so far, territorial reform remains a topic in German politics. Federalism has a tradition in German history. The Holy Roman Empire comprised many petty states numbering more than 300 around 1796, the number of territories was greatly reduced during the Napoleonic Wars. After the Congress of Vienna,39 states formed the German Confederation, the new German Empire included 25 states and the imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. The empire was dominated by Prussia, which controlled 65% of the territory, after the territorial losses of the Treaty of Versailles, the remaining states continued as republics of a new German federation

States of Germany

7.
Country
–
A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. Sometimes the word countries is used to both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. The word country comes from Old French contrée, itself derived from Vulgar Latin contrata and it most likely entered the English language after the Franco-Norman invasion during the 11th century. Areas much smaller than a state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country, Constable Country. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the territory, as in the German Bundesländer. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, the term country is frequently used to refer to sovereign states. There is no agreement on the number of countries in the world. There are 206 sovereign states, of which 193 states are members of the United Nations, all are defined as states by declarative theory of statehood and constitutive theory of statehood. The latest proclaimed state is South Sudan in 2011, the Kingdom of Denmark, a sovereign state, comprises Metropolitan Denmark and two nominally separate countries—the Faroe Islands, and Greenland—which are almost fully internally self-governing. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a state, comprises four separate countries, Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao. The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely, some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas territories, with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own

8.
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously

9.
Minni ritchi
–
Minni ritchi is a type of reddish brown bark that continuously peels in small curly flakes, leaving the tree looking like it has a coat of red curly hair. A number of species of Acacia and Eucalyptus have minni ritchi bark. I. H, & Kleinig, D. A. Field Guide to Eucalypts, Volume 2, South-western and Southern Australia

Minni ritchi
–
Minni ritchi bark on an Acacia in the Pilbara region of Western Australia

10.
Sovereign state
–
A sovereign state is, in international law, a nonphysical juridical entity that is represented by one centralized government that has sovereignty over a geographic area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, one government, and it is also normally understood that a sovereign state is neither dependent on nor subjected to any other power or state. The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact, States came into existence as people gradually transferred their allegiance from an individual sovereign to an intangible but territorial political entity, of the state. States are but one of political orders that emerged from feudal Europe, others being city states, leagues. Westphalian sovereignty is the concept of sovereignty based on territoriality. It is a system of states, multinational corporations. Sovereignty is a term that is frequently misused and that position was reflected and constituted in the notion that their sovereignty was either completely lacking, or at least of an inferior character when compared to that of civilised people. Lassa Oppenheim said There exists perhaps no conception the meaning of which is more controversial than that of sovereignty. It is a fact that this conception, from the moment when it was introduced into political science until the present day, has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. In the opinion of H. V. Evatt of the High Court of Australia, sovereignty is neither a question of fact, nor a question of law, but a question that does not arise at all. The right of nations to determine their own status and exercise permanent sovereignty within the limits of their territorial jurisdictions is widely recognized. The Westphalian model of sovereignty has increasingly come under fire from the non-west as a system imposed solely by Western Colonialism. What this model did was make religion a subordinate to politics and this system does not fit in the Islamic world because concepts such as separation of church and state and individual conscience are not recognised in the Islamic religion as social systems. Nation denotes a people who are believed to or deemed to share common customs, religion, language, origins, however, the adjectives national and international are frequently used to refer to matters pertaining to what are strictly sovereign states, as in national capital, international law. State refers to the set of governing and supportive institutions that have sovereignty over a definite territory, State recognition signifies the decision of a sovereign state to treat another entity as also being a sovereign state. Recognition can be expressed or implied and is usually retroactive in its effects. It does not necessarily signify a desire to establish or maintain diplomatic relations, There is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations on the criteria for statehood. In actual practice, the criteria are mainly political, not legal, in international law, however, there are several theories of when a state should be recognised as sovereign

Sovereign state
–
Member states of the United Nations, all of which are sovereign states, though not all sovereign states are necessarily members

11.
2014 Crimean crisis
–
The Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014. On 23 February 2014, pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol and it led to the other members of the then G8 suspending Russia from the group, then introducing the first round of sanctions against the country. The resolution calls upon all States and international organizations not to recognize or to imply the recognition of Russias annexation, the Russian Federation opposes the annexation label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of self-determination of peoples. In July 2015, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Crimea had been integrated into Russia. Crimea became part of the Russian Empire in 1783, when the Crimean Khanate was annexed, initially it was incorporated into the Empire as Taurida Oblast but in 1795 it was merged into Novorossiysk Governorate and then, in 1802, transferred to the Taurida Governorate. A series of short-lived governments were established during first stages of the Russian Civil War, in October 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Russian SFSR was instituted. In 1954, the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In 1989, under perestroika, the Supreme Soviet declared that the deportation of the Crimean Tatars under Stalin had been illegal, in 1990, the Soviet of the Crimean Oblast proposed the restoration of the Crimean ASSR. The oblast conducted a referendum in 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the New Union Treaty, by that time, though, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was well underway. The Crimean ASSR was restored for less than a year as part of Soviet Ukraine before Ukrainian independence, newly independent Ukraine maintained Crimeas autonomous status, while the Supreme Council of Crimea affirmed the peninsulas sovereignty as a part of Ukraine. The autonomous status of Crimea was limited by Ukrainian authorities in 1995, on 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov said then that he hoped that Russia would treat Crimea the same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential election with strong support from voters in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and southern and eastern Ukraine. The Crimean autonomous government strongly supported Yanukovych and condemned the protests, on 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council considered holding a referendum on the peninsulas status, and asked the Russian government to guarantee the vote. The Security Service of Ukraine responded by opening a case to investigate the possible subversion of Ukraines territorial integrity. The Euromaidan protests came to a head in late February 2014, arseniy Yatsenyuk was appointed by the Rada to serve as the head of a caretaker government until new presidential and parliament elections could be held. This new government was recognised internationally, though the Russian government said that these events had been a coup détat, in January 2014 the Sevastopol city council had already called for formation of peoples militia units to ensure firm defence of the city from extremism. Crimean parliament members called for a meeting on 21 February. Crimean Tatar Mejlis chairman Mustafa Dzhemilev said that he suspected that the meeting was arranged to call for Russian military intervention in Crimea

12.
Republic of Crimea
–
The Republic of Crimea is a federal subject of Russia that is located on the Crimean Peninsula. It has a population of 1,891, 465 , Russia then annexed the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as federal subjects of Russia. Russia disputes this, citing the right of the people of Crimea to self-determination, in 1792, under the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, Crimea was ceded to Russia by the Ottoman Empire under the Treaty of Jassy, which formally ended the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1792. From 1802, it constituted a part of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire until the collapse thereof in 1917. The Crimean Tatars were allowed to return to Crimea in the mid-1980s under perestroika, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea became part of the newly independent Ukraine, which led to tensions between Russia and Ukraine. With the Black Sea Fleet based on the peninsula, worries of armed skirmishes were occasionally raised, Crimean Tatars began returning from exile and resettling in Crimea. Ukraine restored Crimeas autonomous status in 1991, the document specifically mentioned Kosovo as a precedent in the lead part. The available choices did not include keeping the status quo of Crimea, on 16 March 2014, according to statements of organizers of Crimean status referendum, a large majority voted in favour of independence of Crimea from Ukraine and joining Russia as a federal subject. The referendum was not recognized by most of the international community, the BBC reported that most of the Crimean Tatars that they interviewed were boycotting the vote. Reports from the UN criticised the circumstances surrounding the referendum, especially the presence of paramilitaries, self-defence groups, the European Union, Canada, Japan and the United States condemned the vote as illegal. After the referendum, Crimean lawmakers formally voted both to secede from Ukraine and applied for their admission into Russia, the Sevastopol City Council, however, requested the ports separate admission as a federal city. On 18 March 2014, the self-proclaimed independent Republic of Crimea signed a treaty of accession to the Russian Federation, the accession was only recognised internationally by a few states with most regarding the action as illegal. Though Ukraine refused to accept the annexation, the Ukrainian military began to withdraw from Crimea on 19 March. On 3 April 2014, Moscow sent a note to Ukraine on terminating the actions of agreements concerning the deployment of the Russian Federations Black Sea Fleet on the territory of Ukraine. As part of the agreements, Russia paid the Ukrainian government $530 million annually for the base, the Kremlin stated that as the base is no longer located in Ukraine, there were no legal grounds for the discount to be continued. On 3 April 2014, Crimea and the city of Sevastopol became part of Russias Southern Military District, on 11 April 2014, the parliament of Crimea approved a new constitution, with 88 out of 100 lawmakers voting in favor of its adoption. The constitution ensures the Republic of Crimea as a state within the Russian Federation and says that its territory is united. The Crimean parliament will become smaller and have 75 members instead of current 100, on 12 April 2014, the Constitution of the Republic of Crimea, adopted at the session of the State Council on 11 April entered into legal force

Republic of Crimea
–
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet "About the transfer of the Crimean Oblast", 1954
Republic of Crimea
Republic of Crimea
–
Sevastopol, Crimea, 9 May 2014
Republic of Crimea
–
Dmitry Medvedev and Crimean PM Aksyonov meeting Crimean school children in Simferopol, 31 March 2014

13.
Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation
–
The Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014. On 23 February 2014, pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol and it led to the other members of the then G8 suspending Russia from the group, then introducing the first round of sanctions against the country. The resolution calls upon all States and international organizations not to recognize or to imply the recognition of Russias annexation, the Russian Federation opposes the annexation label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of self-determination of peoples. In July 2015, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Crimea had been integrated into Russia. Crimea became part of the Russian Empire in 1783, when the Crimean Khanate was annexed, initially it was incorporated into the Empire as Taurida Oblast but in 1795 it was merged into Novorossiysk Governorate and then, in 1802, transferred to the Taurida Governorate. A series of short-lived governments were established during first stages of the Russian Civil War, in October 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Russian SFSR was instituted. In 1954, the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In 1989, under perestroika, the Supreme Soviet declared that the deportation of the Crimean Tatars under Stalin had been illegal, in 1990, the Soviet of the Crimean Oblast proposed the restoration of the Crimean ASSR. The oblast conducted a referendum in 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the New Union Treaty, by that time, though, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was well underway. The Crimean ASSR was restored for less than a year as part of Soviet Ukraine before Ukrainian independence, newly independent Ukraine maintained Crimeas autonomous status, while the Supreme Council of Crimea affirmed the peninsulas sovereignty as a part of Ukraine. The autonomous status of Crimea was limited by Ukrainian authorities in 1995, on 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov said then that he hoped that Russia would treat Crimea the same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential election with strong support from voters in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and southern and eastern Ukraine. The Crimean autonomous government strongly supported Yanukovych and condemned the protests, on 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council considered holding a referendum on the peninsulas status, and asked the Russian government to guarantee the vote. The Security Service of Ukraine responded by opening a case to investigate the possible subversion of Ukraines territorial integrity. The Euromaidan protests came to a head in late February 2014, arseniy Yatsenyuk was appointed by the Rada to serve as the head of a caretaker government until new presidential and parliament elections could be held. This new government was recognised internationally, though the Russian government said that these events had been a coup détat, in January 2014 the Sevastopol city council had already called for formation of peoples militia units to ensure firm defence of the city from extremism. Crimean parliament members called for a meeting on 21 February. Crimean Tatar Mejlis chairman Mustafa Dzhemilev said that he suspected that the meeting was arranged to call for Russian military intervention in Crimea

Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation
–
Euromaidan in Kiev, 11 December 2013
Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation
–
Crimea
Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation
–
Crimean "self-defence" members, 2 March 2014
Accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation
–
" Little green men " in Simferopol, 2 March 2014

14.
Autonomous Regions of Portugal
–
The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal are the Azores and Madeira. Together with Continental Portugal, they form the whole of the Portuguese Republic, the autonomous regions were established due to their distinct geography, economy, social and cultural situation, as well as their historical autonomic aspirations of its island populations. The third clause of article 255 of the Portuguese Constitution specifically points to maintenance of national integrity and sovereignty of the Portuguese State, as defined by the Portuguese constitution and other laws, an autonomous region possesses its own political and administrative statute and has its own government. The branches of Government are the executive and the legislative assembly. The assembly is elected by universal suffrage, using the DHondt method of proportional representation, the president of the regional executive is appointed by the Representative of the Republic according to the results of the parliament election. Current Presidents of the Regional Executive, Azores - Vasco Cordeiro Madeira - Miguel Albuquerque Legislative Assembly of the Azores Legislative Assembly of Madeira

Autonomous Regions of Portugal
–
Autonomous Region

15.
Autonomous communities of Spain
–
Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities